Meall Lighiche and its two neighbours

[Gavin99]

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Just a quick report for a very nice round of some of the smaller Glencoe hills . The forecast was for torrential rain later in the day so I set off early and got parked up in a layby on the A82 just before the turn off into Gleann leac na muidhe .

Ascent of Meall Mor

The first hill of the day, Meall Mor looms above the road , I had thought about heading up the Glen and doubling back to make a gentler ascent but I decided just to go for the straight uphill method . 600m of ascent in under 1km , steep but nothing too bad , thankfully the ground was dry and only a couple of places needed hands- on , definitely not a route for a wet day though .

Glencoe from ascent

The Pap of Glencoe

I was glad to reach the summit plateau and a nice cool breeze , some fine views from here .

Summit ridge with the Corbett behind ,Sgor na h-Ulaidh to left

View NE

SE to Bidean

A look back at Meall Mor summit cairn , perched on a volcanic dyke . AE behind

The route onwards from Meall Mor to Sgorr a’Choise leads down to a bealach over lovely springy soft turf before contouring around above the forestry to gain the SE ridge ,meeting a line of iron fenceposts which continue to the summit .

Onwards to Sgorr a'Choise

A deer fence crosses the ridge but there is a gap 25m north of where it meets the line of metal posts . The ascent steepens before a final rocky section brings you to the cairn , again some lovely views from here .

Ascent to Sgorr a'Choise

Cairn and Beinn a'Bheithir

East face of Sgorr Bhan (zoomed )

Two Grahams done ,it was time to head on to the Corbett. The descent to the next bealach was on easy grassy slopes becoming a bit boggy down lower but before long I reached the drier slopes of Meall Lighiche .

Descent , Meall Lighiche on r

Whilst trying to pick a way up I noticed another old line of fenceposts , a quick check confirmed these led to the summit , the 400m of ascent over grass and rock was easy enough , not half as steep as it had looked from a distance .

Summit ridge

When I reached the summit , I found some shelter from the wind behind the cairn and had a bite to eat admiring the scenery , the steep eastern face of Sgor na h-Ulaidh looks imposing from here .

Summit and Sgor na h-Ulaidh

Descent , Bidean in the distance

From the summit a path follows the fenceline east before turning north to descend over Creag Bhan to the glen below , I lost the path (as usual ) but the ridge is fairly straightforward , one or two knolls and crags to avoid and I soon found myself at the Allt na Muidhe.

From Creag Bhan down to the Glen

I had read a couple of reports which included some excitement trying to ford the river but the level was low and I hopped across easily .

Gleann -leac-na-Mhuidhe

I enjoyed the walk out along the valley , the Aonach Eagach looking impressive across Glencoe . I had rushed a bit on this walk , half expecting the heavens to open at any moment but thankfully it stayed dry . These are nice wee hills tucked away in a quiet corner , a great spot for a wander and some peace and quiet .

Water feature

[Johnny Corbett]

Nice wee round Gavin, will venture up there soon hopefully to get the two Grahams done. Meall Mor looked blooming steep when passing it last week but i suppose you climb steeply and gain height quickly

[LeithySuburbs]

Nice route Gavin - one for the walking bank . Good detailed report as well .

[Gavin99]

Johnny, it is a bit of a grind up Meall Mor but once that bit is done the rest of the walk is a stroll .

Leithy , a nice wee corner to explore . And not too far to go for post walk refreshments .

[Glen Fruin]

Looks a good round Gavin and i wonder how many people would do Grahams around Glencoe? One to remember i think.
Dave

[malky_c]

Nice hills - Sgorr a Choise in particular - which I did in rubbish weather. Must go back on a day like this

[Fudgie]

You did well with the weather as I was on Buachaille Etive Beag yesterday and it was pretty miserable. Every top was covered so I'm glad to see someone got some views up there over the weekend

[Gavin99]

Cheers Dave , certainly not much traffic on these , a quiet spot .

Hi Malky , I read your report on these , thankfully my day was half as long and twice as dry as yours

Fudgie , shame you were in cloud on BEB, I think the lower hills had most of the views this weekend

[rockhopper]

Interesting route, Gavin, with some nice views - will need to bear this in mind for future shorter days - strange looking "water feature" as well - cheers

[Gavin99]

Cheers Rockhopper , certainly would be a nice winter wander , there would be some grand views of the bigger Glencoe /Glen Etive hills under snow